Re: Itachi Goes to Hogwarts
by CelticCherokee
Summary: RE-WRITTEN Dumbledore stumbles upon another universe. This results in thirteen year old Uchiha Itachi getting sent on a year-long mission at Hogwarts. Sasuke will visit too. The results? Read and find out. Maybe spoilers. PreUchiha Massacre. T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

-::-

"Itai…"

Wooden boards, warped slightly despite their young age, creaked underfoot with every step. Itachi walked slowly, glaring at the moonlit porch. Under usual circumstances the elite Konoha shinobi could move without making a sound. At the moment, however, he was injured. His gut twisted with dull pain as he moved but he did his best to ignore it as he limped towards the entrance. The attack resulting in the wound occurred three weeks prior. Itachi had enough practice in disregarding pain than he should have, but the wound was supposed to have healed completely over a week ago.

He slid open the door to his home and glanced around the dark halls. It was quiet. There was no reason for his family to be awake at this time of night after all. Itachi slid inside, quiet as a mouse, and slipped off his shoes with one hand—with his other hand he closed the door.

"Nii-san…?" mumbled a sleepy voice. Itachi glanced upwards. Two dark eyes stared into his, drowsiness clouding them. With every second that passed Sasuke seemed to realize that he was not dreaming; his older brother had finally returned from his two month long mission. "Nii-san!"

Itachi forced himself not to tense as Sasuke rushed up to him. He barely suppressed a whimper of pain when his little brother squeezed him around the middle. Sasuke was not fooled. A frown creased his face and he cautiously poked Itachi's wound. Itachi gently moved Sasuke's hand away. His brother glared at him.

"You hurt yourself," he declared, pointing an accusing finger at Itachi's stomach. Itachi set his shoes down on the ground. With a smile he shifted his bag into a more comfortable position and headed down the hall towards his bedroom, his hand on Sasuke's head.

"I didn't hurt myself," he whispered in a calm voice, "Something distracted me and I got a scrape for it, is all."

"That didn't feel like a scrape," grumbled Sasuke, "Scrapes don't get a million stitches."

"There aren't a million." Itachi's room felt like a relief after a long mission. He set his luggage on his futon with a mental sigh. Sasuke settled himself down disapprovingly next to the bag.

"Close enough," he replied, stubborn as ever. Itachi's disarming smile failed. Sasuke's glare only intensified. "You aren't going to get off that easy!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the declaration as he rummaged through his belongings. He busied himself with unpacking to avoid his brother's eye.

"And that is supposed to mean what?" he asked warily.

"I'll tell Kaa-chan you're hurt and she won't let you go on any more missions!" Sasuke was clearly more than pleased by this. The mere thought of being stranded at home with his parents annoyed with him made Itachi want to run as far away as possible. The youngest Uchiha seemed unaware of his brother's distress. An immediate distraction was required to remove the smug look of Sasuke's face.

"I've got a souvenir for you, Sasuke," Itachi said, pulling a small, brown paper sack from the bottom of his bag. Sasuke gazed at it curiously.

"What is it?" he asked, staring as if he was trying to see through the sack. Itachi smiled gently.

"It's a surprise," he replied without moving. Sasuke squirmed.

"Can I see?"

"Well, I shouldn't really give it to someone who's willing to threaten his older brother," Itachi said, folding his arms and resting his chin on the hand holding the sack. His worked a hurt expression onto his face. Sasuke's brows knitted with worry.

"Aw, I won't tell, Nii-san!" he said. He looked frantic in his attempt to soothe his 'distressed' sibling. "I was only joking. You can take care of yourself, I know."

A gleam of success flashed in Itachi's eye. Sasuke seemed not to notice.

"Really? You mean it?" Itachi asked. Sasuke forced a laugh.

"Y-Yeah," he lied, crossing his fingers behind his back, "I thought you were a ninja, Nii-san! Can't you tell when someone's just messing around?"

Itachi smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe you're just a good actor," he said teasingly, "If you're not planning on ratting me out, I suppose it couldn't hurt to give you the gift."

Sasuke accepted the sack gratefully; he was glad his brother wasn't 'sad' anymore. He plopped cross-legged on the floor and peered into the bag. He pulled out a stuffed animal, delight lighting up his little face.

"Thank you, Nii-san!" he exclaimed, holding up his new friend. The white cat stared at him with blue glass eyes, its pink tongue hanging out. Sasuke inspected every inch of it, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Are you going to name it?" asked Itachi as he unpacked one of his shirts, smiling lightly at his brother. Sasuke nodded without taking his eyes off it. Itachi waited in silence, his bag keeping him occupied. Finally his little brother nodded to himself.

"Her name is Neko!" he proclaimed. Itachi repressed the urge to sweatdrop.

"That's very… original…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Itachi was spared from having to answer when his door slid open. Uchiha Mikoto was standing next to her husband, Uchiha Fugaku. They both seemed exhausted. Mikoto blinked slowly before smiling when she saw her eldest son.

"Itachi! When did you get back to Konoha?"

"About ten minutes ago."

"Kaa-chan, look!" squealed Sasuke, holding up his present, "Itachi got me a cat! Her name is Neko!"

As a laughing Mikoto knelt down to pet Neko and welcome her into the family, Fugaku sent a withering glare at Itachi. Itachi, who had long since placed his father's expressions into neat categories, recognized it as glare number thirty-five, the 'that is much too childish for an Uchiha' glare.

Fugaku sent Itachi many glares every day. Number thirty-five was quite common when the two of them were near Sasuke. Therefore, disregarding the expression was exceptionally easy.

"Do you know the gender yet?" Itachi asked Mikoto instead, glancing down at her swollen belly. Fugaku was dead-set against finding out early. However, Mikoto was very good at convincing her husband to do what she wanted, often times making it seem as if it were his idea all along.

"No, we're not going to use an ultrasound _this_ time," declared Fugaku, glaring at Itachi for bringing the subject up. "We may have done it with the two of you, but not this time!"

"But how are we going to decorate the nursery if we don't know?" frowned Mikoto. Itachi knew very well that she had several plans for decorations in case negotiations with Fugaku broke down, but he did not mention this.

"We can use yellow."

"Yellow?" grumbled Mikoto. It was one of her least favorite nursery colors.

"You could try white?" suggested Itachi, sneaking a smile at Sasuke, who wore a similar expression.

"Besides, those funny machines could be dangerous!" said Fugaku, ignoring his sons as he tried to build up a solid defense. "How do you know it won't hurt the baby?"

"We turned out just alright, didn't we, Itachi?" whispered Sasuke curiously, just loud enough for their parents to hear. Itachi didn't respond, but he saw his father face-palm.

"Oh, _fine_!" exclaimed Fugaku, perhaps realizing this battle would only get worse if he did not relent. "We'll go to the hospital."

Mikoto beamed at her husband and patted Sasuke on the head.

"It's time for bed!" she said, helping her son to his feet. "Say goodnight."

-::-

Itachi was taking a catnap in a warm patch of sunlight on the porch when Kakashi arrived. He was wearing his ANBU mask. A curious little orange book was in his hand. With apparent reluctance, the older man snapped it shut and tucked it away. He nudged Itachi repeatedly with his foot.

"Oi, wake up!" he said cheerfully.

"I _am_ awake," grumbled Itachi, pushing his comrade's leg away as he sat up. He yawned and stretched. "What book was that?"

"I should not discuss it with someone your age. I'm pretty sure that would be illegal."

"…" Itachi evidently decided it was better not to ask. He could look for it at the bookstore.

"The Hokage wants to see you," Kakashi continued, enjoying the expression on his companion's face, "with your mask on."

"I see…" Itachi grabbed his mask from his room before they began to walk together. Kakashi pulled out his suspicious orange book again.

"So I hear you were injured on your last mission?" he said conversationally. He elaborated at Itachi's puzzled expression, "Tori-san told me during lunch today."

"Yeah… Surprise sword to the gut…"

"Wasn't Kuma on your team? He's a decent medic-nin."

"There's some sort of poison preventing it from being healed by jutsu. I'm going to have to wait until it heals on its own."

"Maa, bad luck…" The two walked quietly for several minutes. People crowded the street, trying to reach their destinations quickly. It was mid-afternoon and many people were shopping. Itachi and Kakashi were almost totally ignored, even when Kakashi pulled out a kunai and began to twirl it around his finger lazily. Shinobi were too common for this to be of much interest to anyone. Living in a Hidden Village had its advantages.

"What does Hokage-sama want with me?" Itachi asked after a little bit. Kakashi shrugged carelessly.

"No idea. I think he wants to send you on another mission."

"I see…" So he wasn't going to stay home very long after all. Sasuke would not be happy to hear that.

"Ne, don't look so down, Itachi-_chan_," said Kakashi teasingly, "He might just want to hear more about your mission. After all, Iwa has been more hostile since the Fourth passed away."

"Maybe…" The two shinobi glanced up at the imposing Hokage Tower as they neared it. When they walked through the doors, the receptionist simply shot them a quick look and waved them on.

"The Hokage is expecting you," she said, grabbing a stack of papers from beside her to sort through. Judging from the way she kept glancing at the clock, it was almost the end of her shift.

"Alright, thank you," Itachi said, not even hesitating in his pace. He and Kakashi trudged up the stairs and into the hall leading to the Hokage's office. When they reached the door, Kakashi knocked and poked his head through the door.

"Found him, Hokage-sama!" he said cheerfully. Sarutobi released a resigned sighed around his ever-present pipe.

"It has been two hours and twenty-three minutes, Inu," he replied, "Do tell what exactly happened this time."

"Well, you see, there was a green beast antagonizing a lovely woman down by the market—"

"Never mind, actually," the Hokage waved him off. Itachi suspected they both knew who the 'green beast' actually was. "You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" Kakashi waved and vanished in a cloud of smoke. Itachi stepped through it and walked up to the Hokage's desk. He did not fail to notice two curious figures sitting nearby. Both wore interesting clothes and appeared to be quite different than normal, which was saying something considering the types of people in the shinobi countries. Itachi concluded that they must be from overseas.

"Hokage-sama," Itachi said by way of greeting. The Hokage nodded to him before turning to his other guests.

"Dumbledore-san, McGonagall-san, this is Itachi," he began, motioning to Itachi. The Uchiha's heart sank as he realized that he was indeed being sent on another mission. Sarutobi continued, "He is one of our best ANBU captains and belongs to one of our more renowned clans. In order to preserve his actual identity, I hope you won't mind me withholding the actual name."

The woman tightened her lips in disapproval while the old man nodded.

"Naturally, naturally," he replied, his thick accent throwing Itachi off guard. Even those from the unknown lands spoke quite clearly.

"As you stated that you would like only one shinobi, and I know your school is to the upmost importance to you, I decided that perhaps you would like someone who could provide decent protection working alone."

"You do recall that I also stated that no one should actually attack. This is a mere precaution."

"Which is another reason I chose Itachi," said Sarutobi. He turned to Itachi now. "I take it you wouldn't want to stick with D-ranks while recovering?"

Itachi blinked owlishly.

"No, Hokage-sama." Despite his best attempt, a flicker of a plea made its way into his voice. Sarutobi obviously caught it; his eyes glinted mischievously.

"I thought not. Itachi, this is Dumbledore Albus and McGonagall Minerva. Your mission is to protect Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from any who might harm it. Do you accept?"

Itachi thought briefly of Sasuke. Then his thoughts flashed to his parents and the trouble his clan was causing the village. To get away from everything would be nice, particularly when it was a recuperation mission—easy, but still mildly interesting.

"I accept, Hokage-sama," he replied, "May I ask how long I will be gone?"

Sarutobi's pipe twitched upwards at his impish smile.

"One year."

-::-

Itachi lounged against the Academy fence as he flipped through his mission papers. A year in a school for wizards and witches wasn't too bad. Well, it wouldn't be too bad if the children's profiles weren't so… displeasing. The children of "England" were made out in the reports to be lazy attention-seekers with a knack for getting into trouble. There were different kinds of wizards and witches as well. Some of the "pure-blood" children held themselves in very high regard, kind of like the rest of the Uchiha or the Hyuuga…

Maybe he wouldn't be able to escape his problems after all. They were just going take a different form until he returned.

With a sigh of regret, Itachi flipped back to the paper discussing magic in general. Sarutobi had tried to use one of their channels for using magic—a device that resembled a stick—and ended up creating a roomful of splinters for the housekeepers to gripe over. Therefore, it was obvious that chakra was not meant to be used. A pity, as some of the spells in his papers sounded pretty interesting. Then again, others seemed to serve no other purpose than to make the user lazy.

With a small sigh, Itachi glanced up at the Academy. From inside he heard the shuffling of many feet. When the doors opened and the children were free from their teachers' watchful gazes, they rushed to escape as quickly as possible. Itachi spotted Sasuke's hair in the middle of the group. His little brother stopped, catching sight of him. Itachi waved and Sasuke rushed up to meet him.

"Nii-san!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here? You never pick me up!"

Itachi decided not to point out that he did, in fact, often come to get him. Every time he had bad news and needed to get Sasuke in a good mood in order to break it to him. Thankfully Sasuke had yet to see the pattern. Ah, the joys of being seven years old!

"Let's go get some tea, Sasuke-kun," he said, patting his brother's head. Sasuke skipped in joy. He didn't notice Itachi tucking his mission scrolls into his pocket. Instead he babbled on and on about the various things they did in school, including how monotonous his new teacher was and how he kept turning to find girls staring at him.

They entered their usual tea shop and the waitress brought over their tea without being asked (she even included natto on the house). Itachi tried to explain the concept of hormones but quickly gave up. As an alternative he quickly assured Sasuke that, no, girls did not actually have cooties, no matter what the Inuzuka kid said. Finally, when their tea was finished, they left. The younger Uchiha was somewhat calmed on the subject of girls by the time they were almost home. Itachi got to the point.

"I'm going on a mission," he said conversationally as they walked into their house. Sasuke stopped in his tracks. He looked up in despair.

"No! You just got back!" he exclaimed. Itachi smiled sadly at placed his hand on his brother's head. Sasuke pushed it away and rushed into his room, leaving Itachi alone in the hall.

With a silent sigh of dejection the young ANBU captain walked into his own room. He sat on his futon and began to reread his scrolls. In the corner lay his bag, all packed and ready, with his weapons. In the morning he would meet with the Hokage and the client Dumbledore-sensei before departing with the latter.

-::-

Itachi peeled open his eyelids regretfully. He lay still for several seconds, simply listening. The house was quiet in the mornings. Outside, an owl hooted sleepily, settling down after a long night of hunting. A few shopkeepers worked quietly to get ready for the day. In the room next to Itachi's, Sasuke let out a soft snore.

Slowly Itachi sat up. He rubbed his eyes and squinted out the window. Red morning light flittered through the glass; not even the sun was fully awake. Yawning behind his hand, Itachi stood and rolled his futon. After it was safely tucked in his closet, he gathered his things and snuck into the hall.

A sweet scent radiated from the kitchen. Curious, Itachi walked inside. Mikoto was humming to herself while she piled food onto a plate. One hand rested unconsciously on her overgrown belly.

"Good morning, Itachi," she said, smiling at her eldest son. Itachi smiled back slightly. He would never know how his mother always managed to wake before anyone else. There was never a day without breakfast in their house.

"Morning," he replied quietly, "Breakfast smells nice."

"I thought I'd make it special, seeing as you'll be gone for a while." She handed him the plate, overflowing with delicious food, and his stomach clenched regretfully.

"Kaa-san, I…" he trailed off, ducking his head, "Thank you, but I have to go now."

Mikoto's smile faded for a second before she forced it up again. She set the plate on the counter.

"I understand," she said, "You can't keep the Hokage waiting."

The 'you' in her sentence stood out awkwardly. Itachi hesitated, unsure if the hidden message was in his head or not. He decided it must have been as Mikoto held out her arms to give him a hug. He indulged her just this once.

"Take care of yourself, Itachi," she told him sternly, holding him at arm's length to get a good look at him. Frowning, she added, "You're getting so tall…"

"I've got to go," he said, amused. Mikoto gave him once last hug and grabbed a bento from next to the stove. She shoved it in his hands and she shooed him into the hall.

"I figured you would leave once you woke," she laughed, "So I made you some to go, just in case."

"Thank you, Kaa-san." Itachi tucked the bento into his bag. "I love you."

The words were out before he even registered the thought. Mikoto stared at him, caught off guard. Neither of them could remember the last time the phrase had left his mouth. Coughing awkwardly, Itachi turned around.

"I love you too, Itachi," she whispered, so quiet that Itachi almost missed her, "Be safe."

-::-

And that concludes the first chapter of this rewrite. Apologies for the super long wait! I died and had to wait to be reincarnated to continue (*cough* lazy *cough*).

In other news, what do you think? Previous readers, do you like the changes so far? New readers, are you going to continue to see what awaits our poor, defenseless victim—er, hero. I meant hero.


	2. Chapter 2

"We're traveling by shoe?" Itachi asked dryly. He examined the crusty old boot sitting innocently in Dumbledore's hand.

"That's right," replied the old man, nodding his head. McGonagall peered at the shinobi from behind her spectacles. Itachi nodded to himself—these people were a little off-balance—and put his hand on the boot. After a slight pause, McGonagall put her hand next to his.

"Ready, then?" Dumbledore asked, glancing back at the Hokage. Sarutobi observed them blankly, perhaps wondering if sending Itachi with them was such a good idea. Itachi gave a barely noticeable nod. Immediately he felt a strange presence, both like and unlike chakra, before something yanked at his belly and the world became a swirl of color and light.

They arrived at their destination almost instantly. Dumbledore landed on his feet without much trouble and poked the boot with his wand, making it vanish. McGonagall landed on a bad patch of mud and had to grip Itachi's arm to keep stable. The shinobi himself used a tiny amount of chakra to keep upright when she grabbed him. He helped her right herself before glancing around.

They were in a small village. Wooden houses lined the main road, signs poking from their walls with odd pictures and English writing on them. The morning sun was barely up and not many people were in sight.

"This is Hogsmead," said Dumbledore, waving his arm to indicate the village. "It lays at the edge of the school. On the occasional weekend, we allow third years and up to come down for a visit."

They began to walk as Dumbledore went on to explain the various signs and what shops they represented. Itachi began to notice a slight problem.

"Dumbledore-san," he began when the old man paused in his speech, "Do you have anything that could help me understand your language?"

For a moment Dumbledore looked surprised. Then he smiled brightly.

"It's a very complicated language; are you sure you want to learn?" he asked. McGonagall was staring at him—had they expected him to just ignore the problem?

"Yes, if it wouldn't trouble you too much."

"We have a spell that could help you understand, although it wouldn't help you speak it. You would hear everything everyone said in your own tongue."

"I wish to learn with my own mind, without magic."

"As you wish," Dumbledore said with a smile, "I'll have someone come by to teach you once you've settled into your rooms."

"Thank you, Dumbledore-san."

"Please, call me Albus."

-::-

'Someone' turned out to be a middle-aged man with long, greasy black hair and distrusting eyes. He had an unpleasant yet somehow respectable personality—Itachi wasn't really sure how that worked. Severus Snape seemed mildly surprised at how fast Itachi learned. When he noticed Itachi's Sharingan glowing behind his mask, he seemed rather unnerved and hurried their lesson.

Once dismissed, Itachi set to work mapping the large castle that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"I'm not quite sure who built this place," he murmured to himself as he ran into yet _another_ wall pretending to be a door, "but I'm fairly certain they were well prepared for an attack. Any enemy would starve to death before managing to do any damage."

A painting gave him a funny look, perhaps for his odd language—Dumbledore called it, 'almost-Japanese.' Itachi eyed it warily. He much preferred Konoha. In his village paintings knew to keep still and silent. There were no snippy remarks when he was alone.

Itachi leapt backwards as a silver head emerged from the ground. That was something else he missed—a complete lack of ghosts!

"Good day," said the ghost in English. Itachi nodded to it awkwardly. None of the ghosts had ever tried to speak to him, instead preferring to whisper amongst themselves whenever he passed.

"Hello," Itachi replied in monotone, hoping that would allow the ghost to understand him. Dumbledore's accent was nothing compared to his.

"A fine day for exploring isn't it?" the ghost said cheerfully.

"Ano… Yes, I suppose it is." Itachi glanced out the window. The sun was shining brightly, at the very least.

"Oh, how rude of me!" said the ghost suddenly. "My name is Jonathan Fray, but you may call me the Fat Friar—everyone does!"

"I'm Itachi. It is nice to make your acquaintance, Fray-san."

"And it's nice to meet you too, Itachi," replied Fray enthusiastically. Itachi was rather confused by his cheer. He always imagined ghosts being more depressed. "If you're going down that way, be very careful! Peeves is having a bit of fun hurling suits of armor down the stairs."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you," Itachi replied quietly as the Fat Friar began to float towards the ceiling. The ghost gave him a jolly wave.

"I must be going now! Good day to you, Itachi."

"Goodbye, Fray-san."

As Fray disappeared through solid stone, Itachi was left baffled. Were all ghosts like the Friar? Shaking his head to clear it, Itachi turned on his heel and headed away from the stairs. He explored those yesterday anyway and did not much like the way they moved.

It was nearly noon now, about the time when all the castle's residents made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. Today was the last day the staff would be alone; students would be arriving the very next day. Itachi headed down to the hall, debating whether or not he should ask Dumbledore to include pocky and natto on the menu.

Halfway down some back stairs he ran into McGonagall. She blinked at him.

"Avoiding Peeves?" she asked in his tongue. Itachi nodded.

"A ghost by the name of Jonathan Fray informed me he was causing trouble," he replied in English. She looked surprised.

"Severus told me you were learning fast," she said in her own language, "but I didn't think you were learning _that_ fast."

Itachi shrugged.

"I pick things up easily."

She looked mildly impressed, but did not reply. Itachi walked next to her in silence for several minutes.

"What do you think of Hogwarts?" she asked finally, probably tired of the silence. Itachi tilted his head to the side a little.

"It's bigger than expected," he said, glancing down at the half-filled scroll in his hand, "and it changes sometimes. That makes it hard to map."

McGonagall made a noise of agreement.

"I think it was designed to confuse intruders," she said, reaching a hand out to pat the wall. "It keeps its students safe."

"Do you like teaching?" Itachi asked. He thought of Sasuke and the young Uchiha's habit of demanding training. "Is it taxing?"

"I didn't always want to teach," McGonagall admitted, "My dream as a little girl was to be a healer… but I think I was meant to do this. I love teaching, although, yes, it can be a little grating on the nerves when students don't try to learn."

"What do you teach?"

"Transfiguration."

"Ano… I'm afraid I don't know that word." Itachi winced as his wound throbbed. He refrained from rubbing at it.

"It means to change one thing into another." She pulled out a quill and showed it to him. Grabbing her wand, she made an odd swishing motion and tapped the feather. It transformed into a necklace. "It's easier if the objects are similar, but they don't always have to be."

"Interesting…" Itachi said, examining the necklace. He held out his hand. "May I?"

"Of course." She handed it to him, watching him examine it with a sort of pride gleaming in her eyes. Itachi smiled behind his mask. She reminded him of Tori-san. He handed back the necklace and watched closely as she transfigured it back into a quill.

"Does it last if you leave it?" he asked as she put the writing utensil back into her robe.

"That depends on the skill of the user. Turning one inanimate object into another usually does, but I don't think anyone has managed to keep a living creature from reverting back into its original state after a while."

"Living creature?" Itachi didn't like the sound of that. He imagined an Inuzuka dog being turned into a desk and winced at the image.

"It doesn't hurt them and it works both ways. You can turn an inanimate object into a creature as well."

The two of them reached the Great Hall. Itachi remained silent in thought as they sat down. McGonagall showed him something called 'kidney pie.' He tried it, but decided that it was not for him. He switched to spaghetti and she attempted to coax him into trading his chopsticks out for a fork. The results were interesting.

"Like this," McGonagall said, trying to show him the proper way to hold the utensil in his hand. Itachi mirrored her, but ended up dropping the fork into his juice. Sighing he picked it out and wiped it off before trying again. He managed to bring a shaky forkful of food to his mask. He lifted it slightly and took a bite. He smiled to himself.

"There you go!" McGonagall said happily, handing him a napkin for the bits he dropped. "You'll be a pro in no time!"

"Thank you, McGonagall-san."

"Call me Minerva, please," she replied with a smile, "We're colleagues right now, after all."

"As you wish, Minerva-san."

"Is Itachi your real name?" she asked curiously. "Or are you not allowed to tell me. Albus said your village is pretty strict."

"It can be. Most militaries are, even the samurai and the small mercenary groups."

"I see…"

"But, in answer to your question, yes, my name is Itachi. I'm not allowed to tell you my family name, however." That was not strictly true. He liked Minerva well enough, but didn't trust her quite yet.

"What does it mean? Do you know?" she asked.

"Itachi? It means weasel."

"W-weasel?"

"Yes, this is why my mask is a weasel. Someone in the uniform department thought it would be funny to make my codename and my real name match." He knew who it was, too. That bloody Hyuuga… "Does Minerva mean anything special?"

"It was the name of the Roman goddess of knowledge."

"That's a fitting name for a professor."

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards.

"Thank you."

With that, Minerva McGonagall and Uchiha Itachi began to become friends.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Albus brought Itachi to a train station in a place called King's Cross. As they walked, the old man explained about the students' journey to the school.

"The train is located on platform nine and three-quarters," he said, leading Itachi to a blank wall. The number on either side read nine and ten. Itachi waited patiently for Albus to continue. "To get to the platform you must go through this wall. It is hidden from Muggle view to ensure our people's safety."

Itachi nodded, glancing at the wall. There was no one paying attention to the pair, so he walked right through the wall, Albus beside him. The old man seemed pleased.

"Muggles are people without your magic, correct?"

"Yes, that's right. In medieval times our people intermingled with theirs. Back then the Muggles feared magic and burned witches and wizards at the stake." At Itachi's alarmed look, Albus chuckled. "Don't worry—there are ways to prevent death by burning. Some liked the tickling feeling of the flames so much they disguised themselves so they could keep doing it."

"Did nobody notice they weren't burning when the flames died?" Itachi wondered why these people didn't just light a fire in their own homes and stand in those.

"A simple invisibility spell ensured the Muggles thought they had become a pile of ashes. Since then, however, our people have gone to great lengths to ensure we remain hidden from their view. Witches and wizards, as well as many magic-based creatures, have faded into myths and fairytales. Ah, here comes the train!"

Indeed, a large black engine was pulling into view. Itachi's eyes gleamed in admiration. He'd seen a train before in the snowy mountains of Yuki, but this one was clearly built for passengers. It was a magnificent sight compared to the armored cargo trains.

"I would like it if you could guard the students as they journey to Hogsmead. A few years back the Ministry saw fit to allow Dementors to search the train." Albus paused, radiating an aura of old anger. "I'd like to say they will not do that again, but who knows what could happen. I don't hold as much influence now as I used to."

"I understand, Albus-san. I'll protect the students if anything happens."

Albus's eyes twinkled as he peered closely at Itachi's mask.

"I know you will, Itachi. However, I don't really believe anything will happen. So, to prevent overwhelming boredom from causing you misery, I've brought some books for you to read." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small pile of tomes. Itachi fought back a grin.

"Thank you, Albus-san!" he said—and he meant it. Books were man's greatest creation. He accepted the stack and glanced over the titles. A book on magical creatures, a history book of magical people, astronomy, and some comics about the adventures of an odd Muggle were all in the pile.

Albus smiled gently and patted Itachi on the shoulder. He handed him a ticket for the train ride.

"I must be going—plenty of preparations to be made for the start of term feast!" he said, his purple robe swirling as he turned on the spot. He vanished with a loud pop just as the train came to a complete stop.

Itachi walked in, handing his ticket to the man waiting. The middle-aged wizard inspected him warily, but allowed him through. Perhaps this was because he had seen Albus Dumbledore escort him here. Did his mask remind the man of the ever-elusive Death Eaters?

He picked a compartment towards the front of the train. No one had arrived on the platform yet besides him and Albus. Enjoying the silence while it lasted, Itachi examined his books. Which one to choose? He settled on the book of magical creatures and became quickly absorbed. As he reached the page on the Dementors Albus had spoken of, students began to arrive with their parents.

Itachi watched them arrive out of the corner of his eye. He matched each student to their file. Some of them were very young—the first years with little to no files, he guessed. After a bit he returned to his book. He didn't look up again until the door to his compartment slid open.

"May I sit in here?" asked the odd blond girl, peering at him from behind an upside-down magazine. Itachi nodded, gesturing to the seat across from him. He returned to his book after noting her name—Luna Lovegood of Ravenclaw. The other students called her Looney Lovegood because of her odd habits. Her file was sad.

Lovegood stared at him intently from over her magazine after she put her things on the rack and sat down. Itachi nervously made sure his mask was tightly in place. It was several long minutes before she finally looked away.

"Oh, there's Ginny," she mumbled to herself, looking out the window. Itachi spared a glance. A large group, complete with dog, had arrived. There was his main charge, a boy named Harry Potter, surrounded by redheads, the Weasleys. Itachi returned to his book. Severus Snape had nothing kind to say about the black-haired boy. Then again, Snape didn't really have anything kind to say about anybody.

Several minutes into his book, the door slid open again.

"Hi, Luna. Is it okay if we take these seats?" Lovegood looked over the newcomers and nodded.

"Thanks," said Ginerva Weasley. In filed three newcomers. The first was Weasley, followed by Harry Potter (regretfully, Itachi dropped his plans to keep his distance from the boy) and Neville Longbottom, who was carting a toad and a strange cactus-like plant with boils.

The three stowed away their trunks and owl before sitting down.

"Have a good summer, Luna?" asked Weasley, after casting a strange look Itachi's way. Her companions did the same.

"Yes," replied Lovegood, her eyes locked on Potter, "Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. _You're _Harry Potter."

"I know I am." Itachi coughed quietly to cover his small laugh. Longbottom chuckled outright. Lovegood turned her attention to him.

"And I don't know who you are."

"I'm nobody," Longbottom said hurriedly. Weasley frowned at him.

"No you're not," she said sharply. "Neville Longbottom— Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw."

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," sang Lovegood. Itachi smiled. He liked that saying. Their conversation turn to more mundane subjects and Itachi tuned them out. He went back to reading his book, catching only snippets of what they were saying here or there. As the train rattled into the open countryside the conversation lost momentum and faded away. The weather alternated between beautiful sunlight and dark gray clouds that suited the quiet.

For several minutes the only sound was that of Itachi turning the occasional page. The group shot him an odd glance every now and again. Longbottom finally seemed to tire of the quiet. He started a conversation with Potter about his cactus-plant. Potter got a lapful of toad as Longbottom pulled out the plant. He grabbed a quill and searched for a good spot to poke. Itachi mentally prepared an escape plan.

Apparently having found a nice spot, Longbottom jabbed the plant sharply. Every boil on the plant shot out thick green jets of smelly fluid. Itachi placed the toad in his spot faster than a blink and was out in the hall, startling a young black-haired girl who was reaching for the doorknob.

"You don't want to go in there right now—a plant exploded," he said.

Cho Chang stared at him wide-eyed.

Itachi waited until someone used a cleaning spell before opening the door and walking inside. The wizards and witches stared at him.

"H-how did you get out the door so fast?" Longbottom stuttered. Itachi moved the toad onto its owner's lap and sat down.

Then, in a mysterious voice, he replied, "Magic."

They stared at him.

"Well, yeah, we guessed that," said Potter, "What spell did you use?"

"Never mind that," said Itachi cheerfully, "You have a visitor."

Potter was successfully distracted by Chang. Ginerva Weasley shot her a look that Itachi could not interpret. Nara-san was right; women were confusing. Rather than think about it, Itachi returned to reading about Dementors.

-::-

It was nearly an hour before anything interesting happened. As the wizards and witches were exchanging candies and cards from the trolley, Potter's friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, arrived. Chang said her goodbyes and left. The group managed to squeeze itself into the compartment—although Granger was nearly sitting in Ronald's lap. A tiny owl belonging to the elder redhead was hooting shrilly and Granger's cat leapt in Itachi's lap to sleep.

He stared at it in confusion before shrugging mentally and returning once again to his book.

"I'm starving," declared Ronald, grabbing a Chocolate Frog from Potter. He ripped open the wrapper, bit off the frog's head, and leaned back. He seemed to have had a very exhausting morning.

"Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from each house," said Granger, looking disgruntled, "a boy and a girl."

"And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" Ronald said with his eyes closed.

"Malfoy," said Potter without hesitation.

"Course," Ronald said bitterly. He stuffed the rest of the frog into his mouth before grabbing another.

"And that complete _cow_, Pansy Parkinson," Granger said viciously. Itachi started, confused by her rudeness. He buried himself in his book, feeling awkward. At least neither she nor Ronald seemed to notice him yet. "How she got to be prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll…"

"Who are the Hufflepuffs?" asked Potter.

"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott," said Ronald thickly.

"And Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw," said Granger.

"You went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil," said a vague voice.

Everyone turned to look at Lovegood, who gazed unblinkingly at Ronald over the top of her magazine. He swallowed his mouthful of frog.

"Yeah, I know I did," he said, looking mildly surprised.

"She didn't enjoy it very much," Lovegood informed him. "She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her. I don't think I'd have minded," she added thoughtfully, "I don't like dancing very much."

She retreated behind her magazine again. Ronald's mouth hung open for several seconds as he stared at Lovegood. He looked at his sister for some sort of explanation, but she was too busy stuffing her knuckles in her mouth to keep from laughing. Ronald shook his head in bemusement.

"We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often," he told Potter and Longbottom, "and we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something."

"You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron!" said Granger sharply.

"Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all," said Ronald sarcastically.

"So you're going to descend to his level?"

"No, I'm just going to make sure I get his mates before he gets mine."

"For heaven's sake, Ron -"

"I'll make Goyle do lines, it'll kill him, he hates writing," said Ronald happily. He lowered his voice to a low grunt and, screwing up his face in a look of pained concentration, mimed writing in midair. "_I… must… not… look…like… a… baboon's… backside_."

Everyone laughed save Itachi, but nobody laughed harder than Lovegood. She let out a scream that caused Potter's owl to wake up and flap her wings indignantly and the cat to leap up into the luggage rack, hissing. Lovegood laughed so hard her magazine slipped out of her grasp, slid down her legs and on to the floor.

"That was _funny_!"

Her eyes swam with tears as she gasped for breath, staring at Ronald. Completely thrown, he looked around at the others, who were now laughing at the expression on his face and at the ludicrously prolonged laughter of Lovegood, who was rocking backwards and forwards, clutching her sides.

"Are you taking the mickey?" said Ronald, frowning at her.

"Baboon's… backside!" she gasped out, clutching her ribs.

Potter dove at Lovegood's magazine as everyone else stared at her. There was a fairly poor cartoon of a man of the cover, right under the heading 'The Quibbler.' One of his hands was holding a bag of gold and the other was throttling what looked to be a goblin. The cartoon was captioned: _How Far Will Fudge Go to Gain Gringotts?_

Potter borrowed the magazine and everyone returned to their various conversations. Itachi returned to his book. He tried not to pay attention as Granger insulted Lovegood's magazine, but was forced to reemerge from his pages as a trio of Slytherins slid open the door.

"What?" snapped Potter the moment he spotted the newcomers.

"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," said the blond Slytherin in a bored tone. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

Itachi stared at the words on his book, struggling to focus.

"Yeah, but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone."

Potter's friends, minus Lovegood, laughed. Malfoy put on an ugly expression. He opened his mouth to retort, but Itachi was done listening to this nonsense.

"Enough," he said in his calmest possible tone. He closed his book with a snap. The group of Gryffindors stared at him open-mouthed. Lovegood simply peered over her magazine, looking no more surprised than usual. Malfoy narrowed his eyes at the masked man.

"Who are you?" he demanded. His cronies glanced at one another as if unsure whether or not they would be required to fight. Itachi stood; he was barely a half-inch taller than the boy.

"Dumbledore-san hired me to protect students," he said. Between his mask and his accent it was a wonder he could make himself understood.

"I'm not hurting anyone," Malfoy drawled. His expression vaguely resembled Fugaku's when he was trying to pacify someone. Itachi did not like him.

"You are hurting the peace. Leave."

"Hurting the peace? What does that even mean?"

Patience spent, Itachi darted behind the Slytherins. Before anyone could register his disappearance he grabbed the boys' robes and transported them outside the compartment. He closed the door and sat down. A full two seconds passed. Malfoy called through the door.

"Just know that I'll be _dogging_ your footsteps, Potter. A-And my father will be hearing about this!"

Itachi returned to his reading. Various stares bored into him, yet he refrained from meeting them.

"Bloody hell," Ronald said at last, "How did you do that?"

Itachi turned a page and said nothing. Potter and Granger exchanged a glance. Rain pelted the windows, the only sound besides Itachi's book for the next few minutes. Luna rolled her magazine like a scroll and Potter squinted at the window as they began to near their destination. Ginerva and Granger seemed lost in their own thoughts. Ronald munched obliviously on a Chocolate Frog.

At last Granger glanced out the window and recommended the students put on their uniforms. She and Ronald pinned shiny badges to their robes. The latter seemed especially pleased by this, beaming at his reflection in the window.

The train began to slow. Outside the compartment was a loud clamor as students gathered their things in preparation for the stop. Upon hearing the noise, Granger and Ronald left. The group began to grab their luggage.

"I'll carry that owl, if you like," Lovegood told Potter as she reached for the cage he was adjusting perilously.

"Oh—er—thanks," he replied, passing it to her. He adjusted the other cage and hobbled after Ginerva and Longbottom into the corridor. Lovegood cast a long, lingering glance at Itachi.

"You can find a carriage with us," she said, watching him tuck his books into the crook of his arm.

"Yes," he said, following her outside. The rain had come to a halt, leaving the air cool and smelling of dirt and pine.

"First years line up over here, please!" called Grubbly-Plank across the sea of hats and owls.

"Where's Hagrid?" asked Potter as Itachi and Lovegood approached.

"I don't know," said Ginerva, "but we'd better get out of the way, we're blocking the door."

"Oh yeah…"

Itachi kept close to Lovegood as she weaved her way through the crowd. They followed Ginerva towards the carriages, but lost track of Potter. Malfoy and his gang shoved some small children out of their way a few yards off, taking a carriage to themselves. Ginerva met up with Potter, Granger, and her brother, passing Granger's cat into its owner's arms.

"Thanks," said Granger. Lovegood and Itachi stopped and waited for a group of students to pass.

"What _are _those things, d'you reckon?" Potter asked Ronald, nodding at the Theastrals that pulled the coaches.

"What things?"

"Those horse—"

The students passed and Lovegood approached Ronald, interrupting the conversation. The owl in her arms twittered in excitement.

"Here you are. He's a sweet little owl, isn't he?"

"Er… yeah…" said Ronald in a grumpy tone, "He's all right. Well, come on then, let's get in… What were you saying, Harry?"

Itachi followed the group, eying the already crowded carriage in distaste. He glanced at the Theastrals.

"I was saying, what are those horse things?" Potter continued.

"What horse things?"

Itachi tuned out of the conversation. He walked up to a Theastral and held out his hand. It sniffed it and stared at him with listless eyes. He patted its side and readjusted his books. The strange horse-lizard creature gave no protest as he hefted himself onto its back. It turned its head and sniffed his ponytail as he tucked his knees behind its wings.

"Whoa! How are you doing that?" exclaimed Ronald from behind him. He was staring open-mouthed at Itachi. Potter's expression was caught between relief and uncertainty while Lovegood seemed to be making a note of the event.

"Too crowded," Itachi said, motioning with his free hand to the carriage, "I will ride."

"Well, yeah, but… _What_ are you riding?"

"Theastral. Death horse," grunted Itachi, pulling his hair out of the creature's mouth, "Do not eat that."

Ronald and the others were forced to scramble as the Theastral took this as a sign to start moving. Lovegood poked her head out of the carriage as Itachi clutched his books. He had never ridden anything before and was quite glad he did not need to direct the creature.

"You have a Beezlegore on your head, by the way," she said, "It's just above your left ear."

She pulled her head back inside. Once he was sure no one was paying attention, he felt the side of his head and pulled off an odd creature. It was invisible to his eyes, even when he activated his Sharingan, but he could definitely feel its teeth sinking into his hand.

"_Stupid magical creatures,_" he grumbled. He tried to shake it off to no avail. He lifted his mask slightly and bit it back. The taste was not pleasant, but there was a faint screech and the pressure lifted from his hand.

-::-


End file.
